Method of knitting a rib-knit turned cuff sock



Nov. 3; .1970 SHIE'LDS 7, 78

. I KNITTING A RIB-KNIT TURNED SOCK Original Filed July 19, 1968 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 3, 1970 H. SHIELDS ,2

7 METHOD OF KNITTING A RIB-KNIT TURNED CUFF SOCK Original Filed July 19; 1968 v 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 HARPER SHiEpb's MW 41, @ggMM/fi ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 6621 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of knitting a sock including an integrally knit true rib turned cuff which may be worn straight up on the leg or turned down and the cuff fabric has the same appearance in either position. The method is carried out on a machine having sets of cylinder and dial needles and the initially formed loops of the cuff are held on idled cylinder needles during the rib knitting of the turned culf portion.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 746,028, filed July 19, 1968 now Pat. No. 3,479,843.

This invention relates generally to a method of knitting a sock having a true rib turned cuff on a knitting machine having sets of cylinder and dial needles.

It is possible to knit a mock rib type cuff on a machine having a single set of cylinder needles by inlaying an elastic yarn on certain needles. The inlaid elastic causes spaced wales to stand out and form mock ribs on the outer surface of the cuff portion of the sock. However, mock ribs are not formed on the inner side of this cuff so that it has a distinctly different appearance from the outer side and a completely different fabric appearance is presented when the cuff of the sock is turned down.

Cuffs of true rib fabric have also been produced on socks by knitting machines having sets of cylinder and dial needles. This type of true rib cuff fabric has the same appearance on both sides so that it may be turned down or worn straight up. However, this type of true rib cuff is knit as a single-ply and therefore does not provide a thick, heavy or bulky appearance.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of knitting a sock including an integrally knit true rib, outwardly turned cuff which has the same fabric appearance when Worn straight up on the leg or when turned down and wherein the two piles of the turned cuff provide a heavy or bulky appearance.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of knitting a true rib turned cuff on a machine having sets of cylinder and dial needles and wherein the method includes holding initially formed loops of the cuff on idled cylinder needles while operating the remaining cylinder needles and the dial needles to form a section of true rib fabric, and then activating the idled cylinder needles to turn the rib fabric outwardly and automatically join it together.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the sock knit in accordance with the method of the present invention, with the true rib turned cuff in a straight up position;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged, somewhat schematic illustration of the lower juncture of the two-ply true rib cuff with the body of the sock, the two plies being separated and the stitch loops being drawn out and greatly enlarged for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 3 is a developed view of the cams surrounding the needle cylinder, taken as if looking outwardly from the inside of the cylinder and illustrating the paths of travel of the cylinder needles during the knitting of the true rib cuif;

FIG. 4 is a sectional plan view through the dial, illustrating the dial needle cams and the path of travel of the dial needles during the knitting of the true rib cuff; and

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view through portions of the dial and needle cylinder, being taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4 and illustrating the manner in which stitch loops are transferred from the dial needles to the cylinder needles.

Generally, the sock knit in accordance with the method of the present invention includes a true rib, outwardly turned cuff, broadly indicated at C (FIG. 1), a foot 10 including the usual heel and toe pockets 11, 12, and a tubular ankle portion 13 extending upwardly above the heel pocket 11. The foot 10 may be knit in any conventional manner and the ankle portion 13 is knit with continuous rotation of the needle cylinder while all of the cylinder needles operate to product a plain jersey, nonrib fabric.

The cuif C includes an outer or first-knit ply P-1 and an inner or second-knit ply P-2 which are joined together at their upper ends along a fold and their lower ends are automatically joined on the knitting machine, in a manner to be presently described. The lower portion of the ply P-1 is illustrated in FIG. 2 as including courses C-2 through C-12, while the lower portion of the ply P-2 includes courses C- through 0-107. The upper edge portion of the ankle portion 13 is represented in FIG. 2 by the courses C-108 through C-110. Thus, the two plies P-1 and P-2 are joined with the knitting of the course (3-108 and the remaining courses in the lower portion of the stocking are knit as a single ply of fabric.

The lower edge of the ply P-1 is joined to the lower edge of the ply P-2 by stitch loops of a connector or make-up course 0-1 which are connected to stitch loops in alternate wales (W-l and W-3) of course C-8 of the ply P-1, alternate stitch loops in course C-108, and to every stitch loop in course 0-2. The course 0-2 is the first of a plurality of selvage courses (C-2 through 0-8) which contain only half as many stitch loops as the remaining fabric.

In the finished stocking, the selvage courses C-2 through C-8 roll up and the course C-9 is drawn down closely adjacent the course C-108 by the stitch loops in the make-up course C-l. Thus, the make-up course C-1 serves as a connection between the initially formed edge of the ply P-1 and the upper course of the leg portion 13 and draws the initially knit edge of the cuif down and integrally knits it with the leg portion to form what will be termed a true rib outturned cuff on the sock.

The method of the present invention is carried out on a circular hosiery machine of the type having a set of cylinder needles N and N (FIG. 3) and a set of dial needles D (FIG. 4) which cooperate with each other to produce the sock. The machine includes a slotted needle cylinder 20 (FIG. 5) in which the cylinder needles N and N are supported for vertical movement. A sinker bed 21 is supported on the upper end of the needle cylinder 20 and is provided with radial grooves which slidably support sinkers 22 for movement between the cylinder needles N and N in the usual manner. A sinker cap 23 is supported on the sinker bed 21 and contains the usual cams which cooperate with the upstanding butts of the sinkers 22 to determine the radial position of the sinkers.

A radially grooved dial bed 24 supports dial needles D and is driven in the usual manner, not shown, in timed relationship to movement of the needle cylinder 20 so that the dial needles D are maintained in the proper alignment with the cylinder needles. In the present instance, there are half as many dial needles D as cylinder needles and the dial needles are in substantial alignment above every other cylinder needle. Thus, the dial needles are aligned with alternate cylinder needles N (FIG. 3) and no dial needles are aligned with intervening cylinder needles N.

The radial position of the dial needles D is controlled by cams (FIG. 4) which are supported beneath a dial plate 25 (FIG. 5). These dial cams include an outer cam ring 27, an inner cam ring 28, a transfer cam 29 and a shed cam 30 which are supported on the dial plate 25 in fixed positions. The transfer cam 29 and the shed cam 30 are spaced apart from each other by about 90 degrees (FIG. 4) and define the general locations of respective transfer and knitting stations. A knitting pushout cam 31 is supported for vertical movement in advance of the shed cam 30 and a transfer push-out cam 32 is supported for vertical movement in advance of the transfer cam 29. A swing cam 33 is also provided in advance of the transfer cam 29 and is supported for swinging movement on the lower end of a control post 34.

The cams which control the vertical movement of the cylinder needles N are illustrated in FIG. 3 and include fixed ring cams 3538 which surround the needle cylinder and are suitably supported in the conventional manner on the bed plate, not shown. Jack raising cams 39 and 40 are supported to engage the butts of jacks I which are supported for vertical movement beneath every other cylinder needle, indicated at N in FIG. 3. Conventional switch cams 41, 42 are supported for radial movement adjacent a conventional widening pick cam 43 and operate to switch selected groups of needles into and out of active position, as when knitting the heel and toe portions of the sock.

The knitting cams include a top center cam 44, a righthand stitch cam 45, a left-hand stitch cam 46, and a lower center cam 47. These knitting cams are supported beneath a yarn feeding station which includes a latch ring 50 having a yarn throat opening 51 in which yarn feed fingers, such as indicated at 52 (FIG. 3), are supported for movement into and out off yarn feeding position. A dividing cam 53 is supported for radial movement adjacent the right-hand stitch cam 45 and operates to at times direct the butts of needles N beneath the stitch cams 45, 46, as illustrated in dash-dot lines in FIG. 3. Needle raise cams 55, 56 and 57 are supported for radial movement in a conventional manner. The needle raise cams 56, 57 are moved inwardly to active position during reciprocatory movement of the needle cylinder, as when knitting heel and toe pockets.

As is the usual practice, long butt needles are positioned in that half of the needle cylinder on which the instep portion of the stocking is knit while short butt needles are positioned in the other half of the needle cylinder, on which the heel and toe pockets are knit. Long butt dial needles are positioned in that half of the dial which corresponds to the instep half of the needle cylinder and short butt dial needles are positioned in the other half of the dial.

METHOD OF KNITTING During the first round and one-half of the needle ,cylinder and dial, in forming the course indicated at 0-1 in FIG. 2, the divider cam 53 (FIG. 3) is withdrawn to an. inactive position so that the butts of all needles N and N I pass over the right-hand stitch cam 45, beneath the top center cam 44, and beneath the left-hand stitch cam 46. At the same time, the dial needles 2 are moved outwardly by the push-out cam 31 and the shed cam 30, as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, all cylinder anddial needles take yarn in their hooks as they pass the feed finger 52. Since the dial needles 2 are substantially aligned above the cylinder needles N. while loops L-l are formed on the cylinder needles N while loops L-2 are formed on the corresponding dial needles, as shown in wales W-1 and W-3 of 4 course C-1 (FIG. 2). At the same time, the cylinder needles N form loops L3, as shown in wale W-2 of course C-l.

After this first round and one-half, the divider cam 53 moves inwardly to the active position shown in FIG. 3 so that the butts of the cylinder needles N are then directed beneath the right-hand stitch cam 45 to an inactive level and the loops L-l are held in the hooks of these needles during the complete knitting of the cuff C. At the same time, the knitting push-out cam 31 is withdrawn so that the dial needles are not projected outwardly to pick up yarn and the loops L-2 are held in the hooks of the dial needles while the salvage coures C-2 through C-8 are knit on cylinder needles N. The cylinder needles N are raised by their corresponding jacks 1 and the jack cam 39 so that their butts pass above the divider cam 53 and the right-hand stitch cam 45 and pick up yarn in their hooks and form successive stitch loops, as shown in wales W-2 and W-4 of courses C-2 through C-8 of FIG. 2.

In knitting the course C-9, the push-out cam 31 moves down so that the dial needles are again projected outwardly by the shed cam 30 to pick up the warn to form inwardly facing stitch loops in the wales W-l and W-3 and to shed the loops L-2 which these dial needles had been holding during the knitting of the selvage courses C-2 through C-8. During the knitting of the courses C-9 through C-107, the dial needles D and the cylinder needles N continue to form'ribbed fabric, and the dial needles N continue to hold the stitch loops L-1 thereon as they pass beneath the stitch cams, at an inactive level. During the knitting of the course C-108, the dividing cam 53 is withdrawn so that the previously inactive needles N pass above the right-hand stitch cam 45, pick up yarn, and form stitch loops, as shown in wales W-l and W-3, as they are lowered by the left-hand stitch cam 46, thereby shedding the previously held stitch loops L-l. During the course 0-108, the push-out cam 31 is also withdrawn so that loops L-4 in wales W1 and W-3 are held in the hooks of the inactive dial needles during this round.

During the knitting of the course 0-109, all cylinder needles N and N continue to pick up yarn and knit and the dial needles D are projected outwardly by the pushout cam 32 and the transfer cam 29, as shown in FIG. 5. The cylinder needles N are raised so that their hooks pass up through the loops L-4, which had been held on the dial needles, as shown in FIGURE 5. The dial needles are then retracted by the outer cam ring 27 so that the loop L-4 is transferred to the cylinder needles N. When the yarn is picked up at the feeding station by the needles N, the double yarn loops are formed in the wales W-1 and W-3 of course C-109. The swing cam 33 cooperates with the transfer pushout cam 32 during the transfer of the stitch loops from the dial needles D to the cylinder needles N The cam 32 ismoved down while the short butt dial needles are moving thereby so that the long butt dial needles are moved out The swing cam 33 is high enough that it will engage only the long butt dial needles and it is initially positioned in the solid line position shown in FIG. 4. Thus, the long butt dial needles which are first moved out by the cam 32 are moved back in by the swing cam 33 to pass inside of the transfer cam 29. While the long butt dial needles are moving past the cam 32, it is moved down far enough to engage the short butt dial needles so that they are moved out and they are not moved back in by the swing cam33. The swing cam 33 is moved to the dotted line inactive position (FIG. 4) as the short butt dial needles are passing so that the long butt dial needles are moved out by the transfer cam 29. While the long butt dial needles pass the cam 32, it is stepped up so that the short butt dial needles are not moved out, since their stitch loops have been transferred to the dial needles N.

Thus, the loops L-1 are connected to the loops in wales W-l and W-3 of course C-108 as the cylinder needles N are brought back into active position to complete the turned cuif C. Also, the stitch loops 1.4 are transferred from the dial needles D to the cylinder needles N in course C-109.

In knitting the course C110 andsucceeding courses, the dial needles D remain in an innermost inactive position while all the cylinder needles N and N pick up the yarn and form outwardly facing stitch loops in each wale to provide a plain or jersey knit fabric in the ankle area 13.

After the desired number of plain courses are knit in the ankle portion 13, the heel pocket 11 may be knit in any conventional manner and is usually formed by reciprocation of the needle cylinder to form a narrowed gusset and a widened gusset which are connected together by suture lines. The foot portion is knit with rotation of the needle cylinder and then the toe pocket 12 may be formed in any suitable manner, such as by reciprocation of the needle cylinder. The toe end of the sock is closed in the usual manner and the sock is then subjected to the usual finishing operations, such as dyeing, boarding, and the like.

Thus, the socket knit by the method of the present invention includes a two-ply, true rib, outturned cuff which may be worn either straight up on the leg or turned down and the cuff fabric has the same general appearance when worn in either position. Also, according to the present method, this cuff is automatically formed on a knitting machine having a set of dial needles and a set of cylinder needles.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A method of knitting a sock including a two-ply true rib turned cuff on a circular knitting machine having a set of dial needles and a set of cylinder needles with alternate cylinder needles being substantially aligned with the dial needles and with intervening cylinder needles being spaced between the dial needles, said method comprising the steps of (a) feeding yarn to and forming loops on all cylinder needles and all dial needles to form a make-up course,

(b) holding the loops of the make-up course on alternate cylinder needles while knitting a plurality of courses on intervening cylinder needles and all dials needles to form a first and second ply of true rib fabric,

(c) holding the stitch loops of the final course of the second ply on the dial needles,

(d) feeding yarn to and forming loops on the alternate and intervening cylinder needles to connect the held loops of the make-up course of the first ply to the lower edge of the second ply,

(e) transferring the held loops from the dial needles to the alternate cylinder needles, and

(f) knitting on all cylinder needles to complete the sock.

2. A method according to claim 1 including the step of forming a plurality of selvage courses on intervening cylinder needles while continuing to hold the loops of the make-up course on the alternate cylinder needles.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 805,612 11/1905 Wildman 66-23 WM. CARTER REYNOLDS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

